We all understand the importance of follow-through. It builds trust. Imagine a world without trust. I'd actually say we are pretty close to that right now. We are consumed with contracts, legal agreements, partnerships and many other forms of binding statements.

But God has made a partnership with us. And it's bigger than anything we can imagine. The biblical word for this relationship is "covenant." This Sunday, we are dropping into the story of Solomon and his individual covenant relationship with God. In this story, we can expand from the place of the individual and bring it into all of the world.

So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. 2 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him,

"I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. 4 "As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: 'One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.'1 Kings 9:1-5